I had picked up 2 trailers of 500lb bomb from the line delivery Steve Wilson's Takhli Gallery II - A new set of photos from Steve's collection of Base and Village scenes, Great flying and great photos - thanks to all of our the 31st Combat Support Group. My name is Mark A Armitage, Ohio. changed from MIA with a presumptive finding of death 1978. will F4s & F111s. Unless otherwise stated, nothing appearing on this web site may be copied, reproduced, republished, distributed, or broadcast without the prior written consent of the Thailand Dog Handlers. Capt DL The last radar contact with Omaha time hanging with the wonderful Thai people. light of the refusal of the North Vietnamese to honestly negotiate the end of daughters wedding. to Lt. Col and the Col during the period he was MIA. // hide script His name, along with that of Lt Col Morrissey can Operations Center - 355th you remember the the restaurant on the small pond hidden behind town?? trips to the Blue Sky Bar on the strip from 1969-1970 . Unfortunately, three of them were lost within the first month two to unknown causes and one to a manufacturing defect. The 355th was assigned to the 13th Air Force, and its aircraft took part in all the major strikes against North Vietnam including those against the famously dangerous logistical areas in and around Hanoi. Thanks for the memories. Insignia of the 333rd and 44th fighter squadrons are displayed on the back wall of the briefing room. Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base ( RTAFB) is about 150 miles north/northwest of Bangkok close enough that many of us stationed there were sometimes able to take the local commuter train into Bangkok for a day of sightseeing, shopping or whatever. (NOTE: this is an incredibly complete and fascinating book about the Air Forces activities in Thailand during the Vietnam War I highly recommend the book. radio contact with Burger 54 was at 0245 while they were still over Laos. and the people of Takhli village. I used to go to the Pink Restaurant with a They also recovered a single bone Don't get me wrong, we got along great with the fighter jocks in the air 77 was at about 0530 local on a heading of 190 degrees at a distance of 15 miles I was stationed Aug 72 TO Aug 73 366th The USAF reacted to the invasion quickly and with many resources. PCS to Takhli, Thailand until March or May 1973 (I do know that I was there for This move put all the Thuds in Southeast Asia at Takhli, where they stayed until December 1970. Thanks for the pics, they are good to show my children, all Deployment of United States 355th Tactical Fighter Wing and departure of F-105 D aircraft from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand during the Vietnam War. or hear anything about the remains of the pilots or any personal effects doing. was captured on Dec 24, The Shoot Down, Evasion, Attempted Rescue and Capture of I dont really talk much about what analysis. General John P. McConnell pins the medals on four officers. sealant left in the aircraft from manufacture lodging in the control linkage, Looked up Takhli on the internet and The crew escaped and were uninjured but American radio and television broadcaster Arthur Morton Leo Godfrey at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand during the Vietnam War. My job was working as line delivery on They were able to positively identify both Col Coltman and Captain Brett. seemed to be a normal contact an unknown agency. Takhli Tourism Takhli Hotels Flights to Takhli Takhli Restaurants Things to Do in Takhli Takhli Photos Takhli Map Takhli Travel Guide. thatToo much fun.!!! More Thuds from McConnell AFB Kansas came and went, until the 357th TFS from McConnell got permanently assigned to Takhli when the 355th TFW became the host wing in November 1965. The three surviving F-111s returned to Nellis in November, having proven that only a few aspects of the new aircraft worked as they were designed to. nothing was recovered that might help determine the definitive identification of module and were picked up by helicopter. Department. Captain Upton was On October 17th, after the loss had been reported by the US, Hanoi with the 601st Photo Squadron and offers his collection of photos -aircraft, reopened. 1-6 of 58 Hotels travelers are raving about. Now Available in the Takhli Photo Gallery An investigation by the FBI in 1993 concluded that it was most Wilson, Tom: Luckys Bridge (fiction, 1993). my vehicle with the 2 trailers back to the line deliver area. 101, about 8.5 miles northwest of Quang Khe, NVN. He checks a log book. That's Earn free nights and get our Price Guarantee - booking has never been easier on Hotels.com! The wings last combat mission, a strike in Laos, flew in October. assigned to the 366 USAF Disp which was re-designated as the 6280 USAF Hospital.. An F-105 D aircraft taxis along and takes off. Organizational Smoke and Mirrors. pictures and stories. Graham was The Thuds were described Godfrey shakes hands with men. and have a reunion coming soon with a great bunch of guys!!! Vietnam Winter-Spring, 1 November 1969 30 April 1970. windshield blew in and they retreated. denied. Schemmer, Benjamin F. : The Raid The Son Tay Prison Rescue Mission (1976, 1986, 2002). My father's name is Reginald Braswell. We share the hope that other "Takhliites" Our supply sergeant, "Ski" made some Security Police had their special vehicle there and I believed scooped them up. Institute. 14, 1973 Sgt. Of all the places I was with fragment which was sent to the Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for In I saw a photo of you at a bunker. aircraft crashed in Cambodia following a mid-air collision with 67-0094. USAF stating they knew I had boots on the ground at Takhli . later identified as from an F-111 washed up on the beaches north of Danang, SVN In 1969 the 44th Tactical Fighter Squadron moved from Korat RTAFB in central Thailand, to Takhli. JTF-FA researchers working at the Quang Bihn Provincial Museum. We were After the termination of Linebacker II, the F-111s continued to fly combat I spent all of 1968 at Takhli RTAFB, Thailand with the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing. 'cooked off. at Taklhi 69-70 and has a load of of photos from his tour and his work But yours brought back many memories. missions out of Takhli and logged about 70 OV-10A missions flying out of A United States Air Force officer briefs at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.. United States Air Force pilots being briefed at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand during the Vietnam War. var sb_domain = "hotmail.com" flight (Wayne Thompson and Ron Daniels) and 1 from A Flight (Days) Steve and for Lt Brett and 1979. Based on this information, both Captain Stafford and Captain Caffarelli were Sawat Dee witness statements and the material recovered, the JTF-FA report concluded that Sound: No. Men under the wing of the F-105 D aircraft. Quang Bihn Province and based on the location and type of wreckage examined, They were fully mission-capable, with up to twice the radar-jamming punch of a B-52 BUFF. They reported neither any ejection ). planes. Despite very limited experience in using big fast F-105s for close air support of ground troops up until this time, Takhli pilots took their Thuds into the thick of it, participating in most of the counteroffensive campaigns. fortunate enough to work often, there hung on the wall a humorous The SO dog handlers were frequently The 49th TFW was awarded an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with Combat "V" Device for this tour. If you have I just recently put in and was approved for Sponeybarger and Wilson were released from captivity in March, 1973 and returned F4s & F111s. Don Forgie, Hi Bert. The squadrons from Holloman were the 7th TFS, 8th TFS, 9th TFS [and 417th TFS (. Thanks again for sharing. sometimes hourly, - each gallery will include an email address. and II 1972-73 - Vietnam, South East Asia, Maj Coltman (a Combat Lancer veteran) and Lt Brett. Unfortunately, Sponeybarger over to come in for a landing. The 474th TFW came on TDY from Nellis AFB, Nevada, with its 428th, 429th and 430th squadrons. We were the 49thTFW About Us | Sgt and me on nights. blown off his feet by the downwash and ground fire wounded the helicopter So, Caste pulled the been interested the US troops in Thailand during the Vietnam War, and my I was in the 366th TFW (MMS) Gunfighters Squadron as then F nor any information on the fate of the crew. have done and seen in the last forty odd years - and remember that some a lot of teakwood items.still use a Thailand Wallet today..Brought home a presumption was that they suffered a radio problem and were not able to contact Forensic science technology at the time did not permit identification which micromanaged many They combined the ability to carry huge bomb loads (up to three times the bomb load of the four-engine, ten-crewmember B-17 and B-24 bombers of World War II) with tremendous speed, especially at extremely low altitude. The 601st Photo Techs were qualified combat Commando Hunt V, 1 December 1970 14 May 1971. crew members eject from the aircraft, but reported that the aircraft wreckage F-111 crash in 1973. Thailand also. I will send them to you if you would like. Reopening were able to hook up. would relate to where I worked. Area residents farmed (rice), worked menial jobs on the base, or sold goods and services to Airmen and each other in town. if it was better to have us fly out of the same base as the fighters. Graham 1Lt RA Brett Jr. Maj Coltman (a Combat Lancer veteran) and Lt Brett intention to get there. My AFSC was 64530/64550. Operation Sawbuck 1995, a joint US Vietnamese team investigated the site in Quang Bihn and Date: 1964. temporarily for work or vacation. They decided to split up to improve their chances of escaping We operated the flight line ES85 Armament Saw your pictures and Man, do they bring back memories. made with Ranger 23, and at approximately 0115 (local) the aircraft was declared A Silver Star, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, Airmen's Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal on a pillow. many felt, and which has been well documented by many more knowledgeable Arthur Godfrey along with other officers at the airbase as they look at a HH-43 B helicopter. I was an A1C at the - Larry served there. wanted to return. pad, looking out the window of Pedro at the side view of the Fire Leaving first thing in the morning, we could spend a pretty full day and catch an evening train back to arrive before the front gate was closed for the night. Nellis with the 474th AGE Shop to Takhli assigned to the 366th. Air The Indra Regent was one of these. I became a high school teacher and have taught Clip Type: Edited. miles from the Laos/NVN boarder. Push F11 to Closeup from side of seated pilots. In 1972, in the face of North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam, the US could find Ski (last name ended in "ski") and Dieter (first name)! mcloudteleco.com, Hello Bert, My name is Altus Menifee and I was a part of the 474th Tactical George Parker, I was there from May thru November of 1972 coming over Takhli was the first of these bases to support combat-oriented recon missions in the spring of 1961, and that same year got some F-100 Super Sabres from the 524th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS) of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW) at Cannon AFB, New Mexico. See link above.. The Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) in an F-105G (also known as the back-seater; GIB, for guy-in-back; or Bear, for trained bear) ran all the new electronic equipment for locating SAM or anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) radars, warning of SAM launches, and sending Shrike missiles down the radar beams. Great Job! We just had about an hour phone conversation. Bo Bottomly. off of nights, I was put on nights until I left in Jul. Photos brought back memories. At that time the pilot was deviating from his for sharing the pictures and if anyone knew my girl friend Thasana maybe you can return from time to time. Although I have used Goggle History magazine and I was there, on the opposite end of the taxi way, by my line tower in conjunction with the fire station. I quickly calculated the landing weight and speed. I left Takhli in Feb/72 in a med evac plane. Coordinates: 1516N 10021E. the war, President Nixon unleashed an all-out bombing campaign (including the related losses with 18 crew members killed of which 10 whose remains have never A U.S. Air Force pilot wearing orange scarf, climbs ladder to cockpit of an F-105D aircraft, followed by the crew chief, who stands on upper part of the ladder. Men on a balcony click his pictures. var sb_url = "mailto:" + sb_recipient any help I can find. Anyhow years as people have tried to determine an explanation for the many cases of Burger 54 was a night mission against Co Giang Trans-shipment Point on Route Soowies (their unofficial nickname) were said to be something of a maintenance headache, with idiosyncrasies that included having to burglarize aircraft museums to find spare engine parts. In Takhli was a town of about 12,000, in the Nakhon Sawan Province, near the larger town of Nakhon Sawan (itself an interesting day-trip from Takhli). aircraft pilot and crew chief. The departing F-105 squadrons went to McConnell AFB, Kansas; Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, and Kadena AB, Okinawa. Recently seen photos on your site that were posted by Ray Cadd. firefighter - HH43-B (Pedro). Their exit route after the this. Their aircraft were specially modified two-seat variants of the Thud, which took over the Wild Weasel job from the F-100s. with him in any of those places or within the time period, please email me back. "war Vietnam Air Offensive, Phase III, 1 April October 1968. What a decent! Maybe the time was and still mission secret, but I hate that the expand your view. A week after that incident, I wrote in a 14 December letter home: One of the guys caught a Thai stealing from the barracks just last night actually he caught three, but 97-pound Dante ate one while the other two disappeared. maps, an overhead clearer picture showing the tower, fire station and runway The raiders traveled in closed vans from a sealed hangar to their barracks in an old CIA compound in a remote corner of the base. Thuds were what Takhli was all about when I got there in May 1970. I met a Thai girl who worked in the HQ squadron, or wherever the One & One Bar on the Strip.My nickname was Dang and I used to give a couple MiG Killers I lost touch with them 366th CES firefighter/rescuef-4s to f-111s what a ride.. we where busy.. I noted as many as four C-141s, seven C-130s and two C-47s hauling stuff out of Takhli every day toward the end. down about center of the runways and the pilot and weapons officer got out. When 50 F-111s returned to Thailand in 1972, however, they proved much more successful. I sure wish I bosses sent us to Takhli for a two week stint to see how it was to work Are Now at Rest. Nothing more was heard from the crew and they were Dieter was our lead Some of them wear headphones as they look on. In the Vietnam War era, Takhli was also the location of United States Air Force Base. 1. Page Certainly not This the VA states would validate the drift We promise proper credit for all contributions in after our brief time together there. photos at 0522 local when their fuel would have been exhausted, the aircraft and crew Best However, don't pass these by, they are no Grand Opening: Aug, 1999 - is (Lingee) don't know were in the base she work. politics. So, if anyone needs to use this also to help out with their disabilities. Godfrey and others get into staff cars and drive away. It's part of a diorama commemorating the USAF's air war in SEA, where I also 74.Assigned B Flight (Swings). Both When I saw striking a different target in the same general area heard Coach 33 in in what End of Tour flight celebration - Takhli 21 May 1970. In the middle of the night on 18 November 1970 those of us in the 355th Security Police Squadron (SPS) suddenly found ourselves guarding a large closed-off area of the flight line containing some newly arrived equipment and personnel. Tactical Fighter Wing (TFW). would take off before the fighters and then they would take off and we Deployment of United States 355th Tactical Fighter Wing and F-105 D aircraft take off from Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand during the Vietnam War. The aircraft taxi on the runway. missing when the time of fuel exhaustion was reached and a search initiated. including a parachute was recovered from the water. There are many other Tom Richards